People work in less profitable industries and choose less-profitable majors all-the-time. Teaching, non-profit, nursing and research are fields where the pay doesn’t always match the schooling or knowledge required.

Sure, I'll grant you that, but it's much harder to give up something you already have than to abstain from something you don't have.

I'm surely not the only one here who declines or ignores messages from headhunters for companies with politics or technology I fundamentally disagree with.

This is just extemporizing to deny a strong point...and in any case, it is easier to give up on an income of you have a lot in the bank.